


The Malfoy Heir

by Serena90



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - BDSM, Discrimination, Dom/sub, Draco-centric, Het and Slash, M/M, Malfoy Family, Mpreg, Pureblood Culture, Pureblood Customs, Pureblood Society, Purebloods, Rape/Non-con Elements, Twins, Wizarding Customs, courting, dub-con
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-01
Updated: 2014-07-13
Packaged: 2017-12-10 03:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/781086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serena90/pseuds/Serena90
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco Malfoy, as a fourteen year old, has started the path that will turn him into a dominant or a submissive. He will be confronted with his society's strict rules, his twin's threat, the Dark Lord's return and complicated romance. Slash, mpreg.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dark and fair

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank my beta, arte0135, for editing the chapters of all my stories and for helping with the ideas of this fic and all the others I've written.
> 
> I might've gone overboard with the archive warnings since I don't know what the future will bring for this fic. But I think you need to know that:
> 
> -It's a Draco-centric story, in fact, Harry Potter might be no more than a side character, doubtful, but possible.
> 
> -In this story, the purebloods don't reproduce by male/female but by dominant/submissive (which they become on their inheritance) so the pairs can be slash, fem or het and will have mpreg. So if in a het relationship the submissive is a man and the dominant is a woman, the one who will become pregnant will be the submissive.
> 
> -There might be adult themes like murder, violence, rape and extremely discriminatory behaviours. At the beginning at least, they won't be the main subject and I doubt there'll be anything too explicit. I'm going to try and focus more on pureblood society.
> 
> Pairings: the final pairing is unknown but be assured it'll be slash.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything related to the Harry Potter World.

**Chapter 1:**

**The Charming Prince/ Dark and fair**

Draco Malfoy passed the silver brush through his long and silky hair, untangling inexistent knots while he hummed absent-mindedly. The beautiful boy had just turned fourteen; a crucial age in Wizarding World since it signalled the beginning of the path to adulthood. From now on, the child would experiment the changes that would turn him into a dominant or a submissive. It was logical to be pensive about what those changes would bring, but the young Malfoy wasn’t thinking of his own transformation rather he was thinking about his twin’s.

The Malfoy Family had long ago been cursed by an enemy who, jealous of the family’s power and prowess, had condemned them to have twins.  The curse was based on the nature of having twins, their only possible futures were that either the children would kill each other by intrigues and underhanded methods to acquire the title of Heir and in doing so maybe ending both dead or they would be so devoted to the other no one could ever marry either of them, thus ending the line.

However, the Malfoys had overcome the curse. The twins would grow isolated from each other to avoid their forming a twin bond or growing brotherly feelings and on their sixteenth birthday they would be left alone in a manor’s wing to experience their magical inheritance once they recovered from receiving their magical gifts and power burst, they would duel to death. The winner would be Heir of the Malfoy Family English Branch and the defeated would rest in the pantheon.

Therefore, it was rational Draconis would worry. He knew Hogwarts had made him weak, while his brother trained on the darkest of curses in Durmstrang, he was taught how to transfigure parrots into golden cups. It was true he was taught Dark Magic at home but he was sure his brother was also taught, so how could he learn in three months what his brother had twelve to learn?

Although Father had managed to triumph over his Durmstrang twin, the times at Hogwarts had been different. The Pureblood Elite held absolute power and their actions were unquestionable and as the Dark Lord hadn’t made himself public Father didn’t have the Headmaster and all the Professors breathing down his neck. Draco wasn’t so lucky, not only he couldn’t practise Dark Magic, the type of magic he was a natural at, being a dark wizard, but he couldn’t even study it for fear of being discovered.

A sigh escaped his sweet pink lips and his hand suddenly stilled as he caught his image on the mirror. A brief flash of Mother brushing her silky hair humming melodiously crossed fleetingly his mind… just as he had been doing. The act had been so thoughtless and so utterly submissive… He shook his head violently, rising from the stool and depositing the silver brush before leaving his bathroom.

If he wanted to survive he needed to know more about his twin. No. His enemy. He knew he couldn’t enter his brother’s wing of the manor as Father, Grandfather and all their ancestors since the first pair of twins was born had warded them. Trying to sneak into Father’s office was out of question too, he didn’t have a death wish. The only viable possibility was to find someone who knew his twin and legimence them to know everything they did. The best subject would be a Durmstrang student of his year, as they would have seen his performance in class. He leaned into the balcony and rubbed his temples, how to meet would be a problem. Father had always been careful to avoid such thing.

\---------x---------

A few years ago, Theodore Nott had mentioned he had a cousin who attended Durmstrang. At the moment, Draco hadn’t given it too much importance, as when he was nine he thought Father knew everything so of course he would know Theo’s cousin was from Durmstrang and wouldn’t allow him to meet the boy. As a fourteen year old, Draconis knew better.

The Slytherin smirked at the mirror looking over his elegant choice of robes, they fitted him perfectly and he knew he looked dashing. The light blue enhanced his fascinating Black eyes, which were an unusual mix of blue and silver, and complimented his porcelain skin. He grabbed his present for Theo, a delightful pair of French cuffs that had charoites as gemstones.

He had chosen his gift carefully: charoites were known for being good containers for protection charms and Draco had had a celebrated charms specialist to perform them. It was also purple, a mysterious colour used for nobility, luxury, wealth and sophistication. Moreover, it was a tone that suited Theo’s dark colouring and was the exact same shade as the details of a formal robe his fellow Slytherin would wear to the dinner with the Nott American Branch.

The stunning blond went through various heavily decorated rooms until he arrived to the Floo room. Two weeks ago he had subtly persuaded his friend to throw a party to which obviously he should invite all his acquaintances. Influencing such an observant friend who knew him so well had been hard, but the results should be worth the tedious task.

He stepped into the party and moved out of the enormous marble fireplace brushing some ash that had attached itself to his blue robe. The sight that greeted him was that of many purebloods walking out of the Floo room to the real party. It wasn’t a ball as Draco had convinced him it would be too stiff for a fourteen year old and that a pool party would be more appropriate. ‘Besides, I couldn’t have talked much with your cousin in a Ball without being suspected of liking him’, had added inwardly, Draco.

He left his present with the elegant tag that read ' _To Theodore, Draco_ ' and as soon as he left the Floo room he heard his name being called.

“Draco!” greeted Theodore approaching him rapidly with a small smile on his face.

The young Malfoy twitched his lips amicably; a bit surprised with eagerness of the usually reserved boy. The dark-haired wizard was wearing a conservative dark green robe, it’s tonality and cut making it adequate for an out-doors summer party. As the Nott Heir reached him, he realised with a start that he had to look up to Theo higher than usual but he brushed it off as unimportant. Although his Father was a tall man, he still had two years and his magical inheritance to grow to his height.

“How are you? I’m so glad you were able to come, I promise you won’t regret it”, there was a friendly tone and warmth to his voice that it had missed merely a month ago and Draco congratulated himself for a job well done.

Not only had he made a closer and trustworthy friend of Theodore but he had managed to make him organise a party without suspecting he was being manipulated into it. He had even denied at first the invitation with the excuse he had to visit the German Family Branch, he had confirmed his attendance merely yesterday but even with such short notice Theo wasn’t annoyed, he had looked quite pleased in fact.

“How could I have missed it? You’ve talked of nothing more in the last two weeks”, smiled the Ice Prince strikingly.

As an answer the older boy chuckled and placed his hand on the small of his back to lead him through the rooms to the gardens. Draco found that he didn’t dislike it and could barely stop himself from frowning at the discovery that the controlling albeit, in this case, innocent gesture didn’t cause him any kind of anger. He knew dominants hated to be manhandled, but he had just entered into the adapting period so not all changes would appear at once.

Once outside, he blinked, the enormous garden was actually crowded. There were some long tables where pristine human waiters (it was classier at social events to have human service, after all house-elves weren’t especially smart) made drinks at one side. On the other side there were many rounded sofas surrounded by thin veils to stop the glaring sun, a classical band was playing and the pureblood guests mingled between themselves at the centre holding long champagne glasses and exotic cocktails or sitting on the rounded sofas.

No one was in the pool that was at a few meters by but that was to be expected, what kind of elegant pureblood would like to be seen discomposed? Probably after a few drinks, some of them would go to the pool but only the rebellious ones or the ones who knew they looked downright sexy wet.

“Wow, Theo, you’ve really outdone yourself this time!” exclaimed Draco with admiration tinting his words.

“Well I couldn’t let it be said by a certain enchanting blond that my parties were less than perfect, could I?” whispered the Nott Heir nearly into his ear.

A shudder ran down his spine as the Malfoy felt the breath on his sensitive ear and he barely restrained a blush. Instead he turned and gave him innocent eyes, knowing the other was referring to how he had teased him about his seven-year birthday party some weeks ago.

“Who would say that?” asked disbelief accenting his voice and keeping his eyes wide and innocent.

Theodore chuckled yet again and shook his head amused, “You’re one of a kind”

“I’ll take that as a compliment”, he smirked enjoying their light bantering.

“What else could it be?” smiled the brunette.

Something was nagging at the back of Draco’s mind as Theodore introduced him to pureblood after pureblood, showing off his connections. There was something that was escaping him, a realisation that insisted on not displaying itself… But even as he wondered what he wasn’t getting, he gifted the guests with blinding smiles, joked with Theo and made pleasant conversation with the ones who had been introduced to him making himself as charming as he had trained himself to be.

“And this is my cousin, Corbin Nott” said Theodore, “Corbin, this is my friend, Draco Malfoy”

Corbin Nott towered over Draco and was dark where Draco was fair; he possessed dark pitch-black hair and ever-darker eyes. His skin tone was a light golden albeit it was obvious during winter he was as pale as the rest of them. His face was impassive and his darker eyes cold. He was even wearing a black robe combined with some white, managing to look even more intimidating. But the Charming Prince only steeled himself and offered a simply breathtaking smile.

“Another Nott, Theo, should I be afraid?” he teased lightly making sure to name Theodore by his nickname and to keep his eyes soft on Theo to ensure it was taken as an inner joke between both of them and no offence was taken by his cousin.

“Mm mm... maybe a bit”, smirked the brunette.

The blond feigned a gasp and hit his friend’s arm playfully before laughing and smiling kindly to Theo’s cousin. “Excuse our antics, it’s a pleasure”, he added raising his hand politely to handshake the other’s.

Dark eyes studied him carefully as they shook hands and they continued analysing him even as they kept on talking, looking at every single detail of how he interacted.

“Are you home-schooled, Corbin?” asked the Malfoy as if he was asking simply to keep the pleasantries going.

“No, Corbin went to Durmstrang, he’s finished this year”, responded Theodore smiling.

Draco looked away making sure to seem aloof for a split second before smiling gently and returning to his charming persona, so that if Father ever got hold of the memory he wouldn’t seem guilty and wouldn’t even suspect he had orchestrated the meeting. “Did he? Now, that’s interesting… I nearly went to Durmstrang myself”

“I met a Malfoy there… You’re quite different”, said the eldest, his eyes trained on him.

“Well, we don’t have to be identical”

“Salazar forbid, we had more than one Draco”, kidded Theodore casually caressing his arm to appease him.

“Hey! I take offence on that!” verbalised the blond, making it seem as though he was trying to change the conversation, knowing that Theodore would want to inquire further about this other Malfoy.

“And how is it they are so different Corbin?” questioned the brunette, his eyes shining with interest.

“Well, Scorpius Malfoy is… the perfect dominant pureblood. He’s aristocratic, cold and commanding. By the time he was a second year he controlled the first years, his peers and third year.”

“Well, then Draco and Scorpius have more in common than you think. Draco is the Slytherin Prince, he was the moment a third year who had annoyed him three nights before had to spent two weeks in the Infirmary and even then he didn’t have a clue about what had happened to him”, declared the other Slytherin, his hand still resting on Draco’s arm as he gave him a smile.

“Still, Scorpius commands with his presence, he’s simply imposing… while Draco-”

“While Draco is only like that with his enemies and is charming with his allies”, interrupted his friend and the blond had to hide his pleasure at being defended so thoroughly. Theodore studied the crowd for a moment before a smirk split his face and he looked at his cousin. “If you want to see how Draco is with his enemies, I have the perfect enemy”

Ice Prince arched an eyebrow elegantly and drawled, “OH, do you really?”

A redhead was walking to them, her hips swaying in what she probably thought was a sexy way, but that actually made her look as though she were limping. At least in Draco’s modest and humble opinion. She was wearing a red  revealing robe which clashed horribly with her hair and her make-up was terribly overdone. She had probably chosen it to emphasis her ‘passionate’ nature but it had been a bad decision considering it also made her look heavier.

“Veronica, how lovely to see you, have you met my cousin Corbin and I suppose you already know Draco?”

“Of course, who doesn’t know him?” asked the redhead with a coy smile.

Draco’s posturing had changed immediately from Prince Charming to Ice Prince and he made a show of looking at her up and down, ending with an expression that screamed ‘you’re-so-not-worth-my-time’. He knew many people had turned their attention to the potential scandalous argument. The girl blushed unattractively as it was a horrible shade of red that clashed even more with her abuse of the colour but she quickly overcame it.

“It’s such a pleasure seeing you again, Draco”, said Veronica offering her hand.

Draco simply stared at it, then stared at her face and when she was withdrawing it he moved forward as if to shake it only to retire it at the last moment, leaving the bitch open mouthed. He smirked at her and turned to Corbin and Theodore. He had long ago learnt that –in public- the best way to take revenge on an enemy was to humiliate them.

“Well, I think I’m going to retire… it seems someone has overdone her perfume and abused the colour red, as you know Theodore, my sensibilities can’t handle such a thing”, he nodded to them and walked away.

The blond knew Corbin probably thought he was an idiot only insulting his supposed enemy’s choice of dress but he needed distance. His perfect mask was hard to maintain when he was in the presence of that creature, he had to be careful to not allow his utter hatred show through and simply let on a mild dislike. Besides it wouldn’t do to be near her when the effects of the dust he had released on her hand acted up.

He had suspected the witch would be at the party and had decided to finally take matters into his hands. It wasn’t the first step of his revenge, nothing further than the truth as the proud pureblood was the cause of more than a few dips in the redhead’s reputation and status. However, today’s act was truly his masterpiece.

He met Barbara Thompson with whom he chatted for several minutes and exchanged gossip with. Afterwards, he made it a point to blend and socialise with several of the high elite being as charming as ever. After an hour or so he decided it was time to meet Corbin again and see if he could get him to say anything else about his brother.

The Slytherin knew he wouldn’t get much more on his first meeting but he was sure once he deepened their connexion an opportunity would arise to obtain the information he so desperately sought. For the moment, he would be as charming as possible.

“Corbin”, he greeted the Nott cousin.

“Draco, I must admit you let me down with your choice of words with that girl… I expected you to make her cry at least”

The Slytherin’s laugh tingled like bells and some people even turned to see the origin of the melodious sound, “Why would you think I’d do anything horrible to her?”

Nott studied him through cold eyes, “My cousin is quite taken with you”

The enthralling silverish blue eyes rolled and a snort was heard, “We’ve been friends since we were four, I should think he at least likes me”

“I didn’t mean that. Surely you realise he threw this party simply to impress you”

Theodore’s cousin was observant, he would have to be more careful around him as he didn’t wish for him to know he had actually manipulated his fellow Slytherin into it. Although, the thought that his friend had thrown the party just to impress him was a bit unsettling.

“I wasn’t even coming till yesterday”, refuted off-handily the alluring blond. 

“And yet he threw it after you complained of being bored and when he first told you and you teased him about his birthday party some years ago, he decided to bring this party to a whole new level”

A frown tried to cover Draco’s features but he kept his face carefree. The penny dropped. The thing he was missing was that Theo behaved around him as if he were a submissive, an independent submissive but a submissive he’d like to court. The casual touches, the open attitude, the trusting… the intimacy.

And Theodore had been displaying it in front of all the Elite; letting their society know that he had his eyes set on Draco… he resisted biting his lower lip. Although, at least for now it was subtle but he dreaded to think what would happen in a month. He didn’t want to lose his new deep friendship with Theo, his friend had opened and had revealed a witty and pleasing conversationalist. 

“He knows Malfoys aren’t submissives”, declared the blond firmly, his jaw set and he hurried to relax it before anyone could notice his tense form.

Corbin opened his mouth as if to argue the statement when Theodore appeared resting a hand on the Slytherin’s shoulder. The casual touches acquired a new meaning to Draco and he forced himself to keep his stance light and unperturbed.

“I can’t believe you made her pregnant”, it seemed as though he was trying to look angry but couldn’t quite manage it if the quirk of his lips was to go by.

“I? Whatever are you talking about, dear friend?” asked the blond with a smirk stretching his pink lips.

“She fainted, she lost control of her magic, she threw up… even the pregnancy spell gave a correct sign”

Corbin’s eyes grew wide and he looked at Draco, “How could you do such thing!? Do you even know the horrible impact it can have on Theodore’s reputation that at his party a witch is found pregnant without a father? ”

The grey eyes narrowed and he subtly waved his wand to avoid having his conversation heard, “For your information, Theodore is a great friend of mine and I’d never do anything that could hurt him seriously. I’ve taken everything into account and I’ve manipulated the gossip. You’ll be happy to know that now the popular opinion is: Theodore’s parties are great, you can’t miss them, and Veronica’s such a bitch”

Corbin seemed taken aback by his furious and quiet answer while Theo was obviously delighted. The blond had decided to reply honestly because he was absolutely sure; the Nott Heir wouldn’t let his cousin confess Draco’s misdeeds.

“I still can’t figure out how could you giver her all those symptoms without taking out your wand or touching her”, said the Slytherin looking at him with admiration.

“Nevertheless, I think you overdone it, you’ve ruined her life. Even if afterwards the tests give negative, they’ll think she’s aborted”, answered stiffly Corbin.

Draco’s features kept smiling and carefree but his words were frozen and painstakingly polite, “I’m afraid your opinion on the matter is frankly irrelevant, especially taking into account your poor knowledge about my… dislike for her”

Theo frowned pensively, “You know, Draco, you never told me what she did try to do to you”

“I hardly think it’s important to go into detail, Theo”, answered stiffly the Ice Prince, before realising how tense he had become and forcing himself to relax least he drew curious glances.

The other Slytherin’s eyes widened in astonishment at his friend’s slip and he took the blonde’s arm to lead him inside quickly, before he knew it he was in an office with Theo and Corbin who had followed them. The young Malfoy was flabbergasted; he had lost the tight grip on his temper and now he’d have to tell them what Veronica tried to do.

“Draco, the office has many wards, tell me. Now”, ordered Theo and the blond found himself shivering at the commanding voice and feeling a pull to obey. A habit ingrained into him from his Father, Lucius Malfoy who detested being questioned or seeing a hint of hesitation in his son’s eyes after an order.

“There’s no need to exaggerate Theo, it happened years ago…You know how I was back-” started the Malfoy trying to avoid the story, he didn’t even attempt subtlety since he was too unsettled and Theodore knew him too well.

“Don’t you trust me?” was the quiet answer.

The blond stilled, he had been putting lots of effort into their friendship in the last months, not to mention the last nine years. He understood that if he didn’t at least try to appease him, Theo would give up on him and would remain strictly polite which would in the future be an endless source of problems and complications since the Notts were quite influential and the heir was quite powerful, magically speaking. In fact, he was certain he only knew the tip of the iceberg regarding his fellow Slytherin’s magical prowess. It was certain: the Nott Heir’s reaction wouldn’t be pretty, especially taking into account his supposed crush.

“Theo, it isn’t that… it’s just a thing I have to take care for myself”, he whispered looking at him and keeping his eyes wide and honest, his voice taking a slightly pleading quality.

“I can help you and you know it, as you know I’d never tell a soul and I’ll make sure neither will Corbin”, the brown eyes were looking at him intently darkened with a dominant’s desire to protect.

Draco bit his lower lip, hesitant, and sighed. “You remember the Humbert’s party, right?”

Theodore nodded and Corbin examined him intently. The beautiful blond sighed, closing briefly his eyes to recall the event and to hide his emotional response.

“I was eleven, she was fifteen… nearly a full dominant, in fact. She flirted with me, I ignored it, she attempted to seduce me, and I ignored her. She slipped something into my drink and I- I didn’t notice… I drank it” Draco couldn’t raise his eyes, but he could see Theodore’s tightening fists. “When I woke up I was tied to a- a bedpost and she was on the end of the bed” there was a gasp “she said I wasn’t so uptight now, was I? That now I’d be hers and that Father and Mother would’ve no choice but to give me to her as I’d be tainted… She advanced, she was on me, and she was kissing my neck and… then she was blasted to the wall”

“She tried to rape you?” Corbin’s voice was dumbstruck and Draco nodded looking away in fear at what he’d see in his friend’s eyes.

Theo’s hand grasped his face so that their eyes met, the blond swallowed with difficulty… he looked outraged and suddenly his own body was trembling. The Nott Heir hugged him, his arms like steel surrounding him and at the same time keeping him safe. He breathed in the masculine, dominant scent and his body instinctively relaxed in those arms. Draco was embarrassed to notice his eyes were gathering tears but he willed himself not to spill a single one of them.

“What happened then?”

“My spurt of accidental magic alerted the Humberts that something was wrong as it coincided with my signature, they called Father and they came into the room to find me tied to a bedpost and her sprawled on the floor with her head slightly bleeding…”

“And your father asked her to duel”, continued Theo his voice filled with hope.

It was tradition to duel for honour or to avenge an offence, trying to rape an underage son was definitely included into the term offence. The stunning blond choked back a sob.

“No. He made me duel her” Nott’s arms tightened.

“Why would he do such thing? You were eleven and she was fifteen, she had nearly rapped you moments before and he asked you to duel her?” there was indignation in his tone and Draco felt comforted.

“Even though, I’d been a foolish child who had nearly got himself rapped, I’d regain some dignity by accomplishing a victory over her… I lost”, his last sentence was nothing more than a whisper and the arms embracing him tightened. “I didn’t even manage a powerful spell or hex, she quickly overcame me… Father scolded me and changed their memories so that no one would remember the attempted rape or my disgracing performance. I’ve never seen him so furious…”

His face was still hidden in his friend’s body but he knew the cousins were exchanging their opinions by sharing a significant look, he timidly raised his face to observe his friend’s reaction. He nearly gasped and his hands that had unknowingly grasped the other’s green robe tightened. Theo’s face expressed such an intense desire to protect, to destroy what had threatened… it was an expression so dominant and intense that he felt safe, even though every time he saw the redheaded witch he felt as if he were eleven again: bound and so weak.

“It’s over now though, I’m not weak anymore”, announced strongly the blond.

“OH, Draco, do you really think you were weak?” asked the Nott Heir, despair in his tone.

“I let myself be drugged and afterwards defeated in a duel, it doesn’t matter what I think or would like to think: I was weak”, concluded the Malfoy distancing himself from his friend but still in his arms.

“Sweet Circe, Draco, you were an eleven year old faced with a nearly dominant witch who moments ago had tried to rape you. Failing to surpass her isn’t being weak, it’s being human”

“Father said-”, started the beautiful Prince.

“Your Father’s a jerk”, interrupted tensely Corbin.

The Slytherin turned to look at him stunned, Corbin’s stance was a myriad of emotions but if his vast experience wasn’t mistaken –which usually never was- he seemed to be stopping himself from going to find his Father and murder him painfully and slowly.

But Corbin didn’t even like him, why would he react like that? Ah! He was under the illusion he was to be a submissive and as the dominant he was, he perceived it as a failure to protect a submissive and hurting a submissive, two of the essentials of being a dominant violated.

Keeping Corbin and Theo under that illusion might prove beneficial in a short-term period, seeing it would increase his possibilities of being able to Legimence Corbin, but still deluding his friend wasn’t something he wanted to do. Maybe he could simply not call them upon it and let them figure out how wrong they had been in their assumptions on their own.

“Father is not such thing; he’s a powerful wizard who only tries to make me worthy of the Malfoy name…” he calmly answered.

“You must understand that even though I’m sure your Father meant well, his methods were poor at handling the situation”, tried to amend Theo but Draco could see that he doubted on the ‘meant well’ and that he was seething. “You were most definitely not weak and-”

“Please, Theo, can’t we just leave this conversation? What’s happened has happened and nothing can change it, could we simply feign we haven’t had this conversation, please?”

He needed to stop talking about it, the memories were too painful: the disappointment of his Father, the utter feelings of panic and helplessness that had imprisoned him… He would start sobbing if they didn’t drop it and he didn’t wish for Theodore to see him in such a disgraceful state. It would probably sustain his absurd idea of his becoming a submissive. Besides, he didn’t want to have a completely stranger like Corbin see him at his weakest.

Draco could see that his friend objected to the idea but after hearing his pleading voice and looking into his supplicant eyes, he caved with a sigh and nodded. His lightly muscled arms stopped hugging him and dropped to Theo’s sides and the blond resisted biting his lower lip feeling oddly vulnerable without his fellow Slytherin arms enveloping him in a protective gesture.

“Thank you. Now, let’s go outside, shall we? After all, it’s a magnificent party and I would hate to miss on anything”, he said opening the heavily warded door and smiling as though they had just been talking about the weather and being simply charming.

Corbin’s face rapidly returned to cold indifference although the latent dislike, Draco knew he had held for him had disappeared. Theo needed a few more seconds before reinstalling himself as the witty and entertaining host. They went back outside to the party.

This wouldn’t do. The easy-going and light bantering between the Nott Heir and him had vanished. He could practically feel his friend restraining himself and pretending happiness. Theo was miserable. It was his party! Theo shouldn’t be miserable especially because he hadn’t been artful enough to avoid the explaining “the incident”.

They were talking next to the pool; Theodore was back to showing off his connections and displaying the typical behaviour of a dominant courting a submissive. The only difference was the sheer possessiveness and protectiveness his body language revealed. Somehow the image his friend had of him had gone from “independent submissive” to “in need of protection submissive”.

A few minutes later, found them both in the water completely dressed and laughing happily. The light atmosphere between them restored and Draco couldn’t help but think that his ruined hairstyle and diminishing in elegance in the mental rates of his peers was worth it. So he grinned happily and splashed his friend, not noticing the eyes full of desire that examined his body, not realizing that the display of light heartedness had attracted more his future suitors than discouraged them.

The blond beauty controlled the urge to blush, Theodore had finally casted a spell to change his clothes underneath his robe's and vanished his robe. His dark-haired friend had not only grown taller but had also developed a light musculature. He forced his eyes away from the defined chest but met another sight, as was usual the dominants displayed far more skin than the submissives.

Both female and male dominants flaunted their bodies, the female dominants wearing colourful bikinis and the dominants wearing nothing but shorts similar to braies though from another material. The few submissives in the water were more conservative and wore French cambric gowns that cascaded down to their ankles, the more adventurous though wore thin gowns which were a bit transparent and insinuated their undergarments.

The Malfoy Heir swallowed, he should change too but he hadn't planned to actually get in the water so he wasn't sure about what he should wear. He didn't think he could wear only braies like his fellow Slytherin. Although he was lean, his body was not as defined yet and everyone would see it. Plus, some of the other guests thought he was going to be a submissive and his reputation would suffer if he revealed too much skin especially in front of his courter, not that he was willing to expose so much at least not until he had a more dominant-like body. Still, he didn't want to encourage the idea of his being a submissive.

He took out his wand and with a flourish changed his clothes. He didn't wear a gown but a long camisole that reached his knees and underneath he wore braies. The camisole was lovely, the neck and the end were trimmed but it wasn't antique cuffed like the gowns. It was an outfit modest enough, even if he were to be a submissive since he was only fourteen.

The Slytherin Prince moved through the water and frowned, the end of the camisole rose slightly revealing a bit of the braies underneath, so he casted a weighting charm on his camisole to prevent it from raising again. He looked up to find Theodore staring at him intently, this time he blushed lightly knowing that his friend liked him. The camisole was wet against his skin and it outlined his figure.

He bit his lower lip, feeling exposed for some reason, but then decided to stop the staring by splashing the Nott Heir. The gorgeous blond laughed when his friend spluttered and made to splash him, the weird expression gone from his handsome face.


	2. The art of infiltration

**Chapter 2:**

 

**The art of infiltration**

The golden titles of the tomes gleamed under the effete light, the books in the Malfoy Library were unique and their owners wouldn’t allow a fail in the illumination to deteriorate their ancient and priceless fountain of knowledge. The gorgeous blond stroked the spine of the maroon volume he had been looking for, the Family Library had been accumulating their wisdom for more than ten centuries: it was needless to say that, in spite of the wonderful organization, finding things took time and patience.

 _The art of infiltration_ _by Annabelle Malfoy_ was exactly what he needed to plan how he would obtain the invaluable memories of Corbin Nott. Draco had taken advantage of his strengths and studied all there was to know about the human being ranging from social graces to manipulation to gain what he desired.

However, despite knowing the bases of subtly acquiring information from unsuspecting or suspicious and trained conversationalists or maybe because of the depth of his knowledge in those subjects, the Prince was aware he was a novice to espionage.

The Malfoy Heir already knew exactly how to harvest the memories but it was of the utmost importance that no one found him or discovered his actions ever. He was a master at blackmail and he wouldn’t appreciate being a victim of it -conscious of what it fully entailed- and that would be the result of being detected in the best case. There were grimmer possibilities like ending up chained in their dungeons for Merlin knew how long for his daring.

Draconis carefully withdrew the publication making sure not to damage it, Father was a firm believer of enforcing discipline with violence and would surely have a painful punishment waiting for him if he ever did such thing and considering his profound inversion in the more harmful aspect of the Dark Arts it wasn’t a wise move to anger him.

The pale wizard walked through the tall bookshelves that reached the far painted ceiling, thankfully he had spent many hours in his life there and knew how to find his way around. He arrived to a solid wood table that looked odd, there seemed to be no reason for a table in that spot but the fair-haired was used to the bizarre distribution of the oldest parts of the manor.

The Slytherin sat down on the comfy chair depositing the volume in front of him and next to _Magical Signatures by Dara Malfoy_ , _Magical wards by Sigmund Theirs_ , _Under the radar by Fistblee_ , _Undetected by Heirdem Hordwards_ and _Detection by Selenus Malfoy_. He had been investigating every possible detail that could reveal or even hint his illegal activities, he was intent on not letting any margin to error. He was a Malfoy and Malfoys didn’t leave loose ties.

The Ice Prince opened the last book he had collected and mentally prepared himself to absorb the surely through text he was about to read. The calligraphy was the typical of the age, other wizards might find it difficult to read and maybe even dizzying. Draco was accustomed to them, having been reading them since he was barely a toddler. The style was old-fashioned and yet again other wizards would consider deciphering it an impossible task. Draco was so habituated to it, he scarcely saw any difference.

He immersed himself in the text trying to regard it as fascinating, fully cognisant that it would make actually remembering what it said and not falling sleep an easier chore. The hours passed with the striking blond engrossed with the antediluvian tome to such an extent that Poppy, his house-elf, had to call him twice to wake him from his stupor.

The house-elf had appeared to announce an unexpected visit a few moments before, it had, however, lacked the good grace of informing Draconis who was the visitor. A mistake the gorgeous blond vowed to make sure she never repeated again. Therefore, the stunning Malfoy was sitting regally keeping a perfect posture and studying the elegant tearoom with disinterest.

He always favoured this room during spring and summer as he felt a weakness for the large windows that offered an amazing view of the scenic gardens. Some times, when the weather looked particularly enjoyable, he would even move to have tea in the terrace outside with his visitor. He adored the spot under the cherry trees particularly when they blossomed during spring, it was wonderful sitting under them sipping tea and admiring the view. The sound of heels brought him out of his reverie and he looked up with a polite smile on his lips.

“Brittany, what a lovely surprise”, said sweetly the beautiful blond standing up to greet the new arrival.

The brunette witch stretched her wicked red lips into a warm smile as she brushed back her brown hair scandalously cut à la garçon, her conniving chocolate eyes studying the tastefully decorated tea room. The Malfoy Heir wondered for a brief second how he should acknowledge her, considering she was a dominant and it supposedly remained unknown what he would be. It wouldn’t do to be regarded as presumptuous for believing to be a dominant without proof. So Draco graciously gestured her to sit down in a neutral gesture and she followed his instructions sitting down on the marine Italian Rococo sofa and folding her hands on her lap.

“Would you like some tea?” inquired the Slytherin courteously.

“I’d love some”, answered the intriguing girl.

Her eyes were examining him, probably to discern what he would be: a dominant or a submissive. He knew his society was anxious to discover his true nature, it wasn’t easy to distinguish as he had a tendency to display characteristics of both behaviours. He was charming and sociable but cold and intimidating with his enemies, he was kind and sweet but he was a master puppet, he formed strong relationships but he was protective of them…

Everyone was dying to know what he exactly was to be, especially considering the ramifications and consequences his nature would entail to their world. Only his family seemed to be sure that he was to be a dominant, there hadn’t been a single submissive in the British Branch of the family since the twins’ curse was brought upon them.

“Poppy”, Draco called his personal elf.

A pop was heard and a house-elf dressed in a clean white sheet (since the Slytherin detested any sign of unkempt) appeared her huge green eyes looking respectfully to her junior Master and her long fingers fidgeting slightly. She was nervous, it seemed to be a state all house-elves shared to the fair-haired’s nuisance. It was an annoyance that was shared by many purebloods, which wasn’t particularly odd considering they spent years training themselves on proper behaviour and having their servants acting in such a disgraceful manner…

However, she was one of the only creatures Draco would trust, understandably so, taking into account she was magically tied to exclusively him. There was no way she would ever betray him be it knowingly or unknowingly as the Malfoy had made sure to cover all the possible ways that such event could happen.

“Bring a tea set”, ordered the Prince firm but not harsh.

He had soon learnt that being both too strict with house-elves and too soft gained disdain and mocks from a considerable part of the society, respectively. As a result, he tended to be stern without bordering either extreme. Besides, he hardly needed to punish Poppy at all, she was a devoted house-elf who did everything she could to make his life easier. Maybe her utter devotion stemmed from his refusal to chastise her using violence seeing his Father’s brutal ways with his house-elves, instead he always resorted to rebuking privileges.

“Yes, Master Draco”, nodded Poppy dutifully.

Poppy was quick to reappear with a silver tray on which was the teapot, two fine china cups on its respective plates, a saucer, a creamer, sugar, two silver-plated teaspoons and a plate of delicious biscuits. The house-elf levitated it to the table, set everything down and bowed before rapidly disappearing again to avoid disturbing the guest.

Draco had been taught how to serve tea properly; he was a bit hesitant to perform it because it was a task mostly reserved to submissives since in the old times they would show off their thin wrists and their grace this way. Something ludicrous nowadays, but tradition was tradition and purebloods prided in their ancestral traditions. After pondering on his dilemma for a few seconds, he concluded that seeing he wasn’t even fifteen and therefore his transformation wasn’t set on stone he could serve the tea without endangering his reputation.

The stunning blond took the teapot and looked to his companion, “How would you like your tea Brittany?”

“With some milk and two sugars, please”, responded amiably the attractive witch.

The Malfoy started to gracefully serve the tea and when both cups were finished, he sipped on his tea enjoying its delicious savour. The Ice Prince analysed his company’s shocking attire strategically made to be masculine, yet sexy and to convey her definitely dominant nature. Today, the outfit consisted on a robe with stiff shoulders that opened at the waist leaving on display the 'manly' by muggleborn standards trousers, both clothes tightened around her curves and were loose on the appropriate places to disguise her defects.

The witch started chatting and she quickly took the reins the conversation, the appealing host let her wondering what she planned to achieve doing so. She started talking about the scandals that summer had brought, Draco was careful to file in his head some useful information and made all the right intersections to allow the dominant to disclose her real purpose.

“Have you heard about Veronica’s demise? Apparently she got herself pregnant!” commented horrified the American girl.

“I know, I was in Theo’s party when it was discovered! It was so unbecoming of her!” responded the Ice Prince letting his voice indicate how inappropriate he thought it was disclosing such secret in his friend’s party, as though the redhead had tried to steal the Nott Heir’s spotlight and hiding his glee for finally discovering what her aim was.

“I would have loved to attend his party and see it for myself, sadly I was occupied with previous affairs. However, I was told you had Theodore attending to you all the party”, stated studying him with her chocolate eyes.

Draco hid his blanch at the direct statement; he knew sooner or later someone would mention the dark haired fawning over him but he hadn’t expected it to be so soon. He had to treat this meticulously: a wrong word and he would suddenly become some kind of prostitute. He lowered his alluring Black eyes to his tea. It wouldn’t do well that someone thought he was using the Nott Heir so he had to play the little lamb who didn’t know how to act in this situation. On his favour, he had the fact that Brittany was close to him and didn’t want to ruin him.

“We are close friends”, he whispered timidly.

“Apparently he didn’t act as though you were only friends”, remarked the witch calmly.

A blush tinted his cheeks and he coyly raised his eyes from his cup, nibbling his lower lip as though he were nervous and didn’t know how to behave regarding this matter.

“Do you like him?” inquired gently the dominant, her voice warm.

“I-I don’t know… There hasn’t been a British Malfoy submissive in more than a few hundred of years…” murmured the clever blond uncertainly.

“I sense a ‘but’ in that sentence”, observed the brunette motherly, her entire being exuding understanding and kindness.

“He’s so… he makes me feel… like I was all he cared for, like he wanted me for myself not for who I was… and I really like that, is this stupid?” wondered hesitantly the radiant fair-haired to his companion.

“No Draco, it’s normal for you to want to feel loved especially with those distant parents of yours”, the last part was only an angry murmur.

The Slytherin smirked to himself: mission accomplished. When he turned out to be a dominant, he wouldn’t have been leading Theo on for fun or manipulation or whatever his enemies could have come up with, he would have led on the Nott Heir subconsciously because he desperately needed the assurance of feeling loved that his attentions provided. He was, after all, vulnerable to such attentions due to the coldness of his parents towards him.

The icy relationship between Malfoy parents-son was legendarily formal. Most purebloods parents feigned indifference or downplayed their emotions to mere pride in public, but the fact that it was truly that unfeeling in the Malfoys family was well-known in their society. How one of his great-uncles had died after hours of torture because his great-great grandfather had refused to concede to a single request to his kidnappers was a story that was whispered into the ears of many when they studied the Malfoy Family.

“I really enjoyed it with Theo, even after the discovery of Veronica’s pregnancy”, admitted the lovely blond.

“That silly girl, I found it completely unbelievable”, responded judgmental the American deciding to stop intruding after gaining the response she wanted.

“I always thought she was a disgrace to our community but I didn’t think she’d steep as low as that”

The cunning Slytherin smirked inwardly, he was going to have to point out a vital detail. It was a fundamental part of his plan to isolate his nearly rapist that everyone recognized that clue point. He was appalled at his peers’ poor perception as no one had realised or at least disclosed it yet, alas, now he was in the perfect situation to change such thing.

“Getting herself pregnant and going in public in such condition!” exclaimed the dismayed foreigner, shaking her head lightly to express her disapproval.

The Slytherin blinked and bit his lip hesitantly asking, “If I ask you something, do you promise not to laugh?”

The ravishing blond had made it a point to establish the witch as someone who he would search for “comfort” in front of his insecurities (like with the Theo situation) or “knowledge” he supposedly didn’t have (like Veronica’s pregnancy).

His purpose was to make the American think he looked up to her and to use this belief in order to install himself as her protégé, making her protective of him was only positive. Thus, it meant she would defend his honour and his intentions regarding Theo and it was also a good method to set rumours running wild as he innocently and naively asked the right questions mixed with some useless ones to not make her suspicious.

The dominant’s whole stance lightened up, “Of course, Draco!”

She was just as delighted to having the sweet Malfoy as her charge, she was even more satisfied with the idea that he revealed his true self to her. The witch thought him to be adorable and it made her an influence to a powerful man both magically and socially. It also nurtured her dominant instincts to protect and aid someone who behaved so submissively. Their relationship was a bit complicated but Draco found it to be mutually beneficial.

“It’s just…”

“Yes?” asked excited the brunette witch, pleased with the evident trust he was showing.

Although Draco tried to play the naïve little wizard with her, he usually didn’t make such grand confessions as his desire for Theo’s attention. Habitually, he would drop subtle hints that she effortlessly translated but he had never been quite as open as right now.

“I know this will probably sound ridiculous to you but…” started shyly the angelic blond.

“OH, don’t worry!” incited him the pureblood girl, brown eyes gleaming with emotion.

“How can a dominant get pregnant? I thought only submissives could get pregnant”, wondered uncertainly the Malfoy, lowering his eyes trying to appeal to the dominant nature of the other.

“That’s easy! They can if they have relations with a mudblood or a muggle”, explained brightly the American before realising what that meant, her eyes widened astonished.

Draco hid his smirk behind the priceless porcelain cup: Veronica’s reputation was officially ruined.

His visit stayed for a while after the astonishing revelation and the blond kept his lovely façade until she had left and his house-elf did the routinely examination of his wing of the Manor to make sure no spying devices or spells had been set in the brief stopover. After receiving the news no such thing had been found, he sighed for a reason not even known to himself and walked outside.

The fresh breeze caressed his skin and stroked his silky blonde hair, he strolled leisurely around the garden, coming to a stop under a cherry tree. He let himself fall graciously to a sitting position and wrapped his arms around himself while silently observing the beauty of his surroundings. The striking Slytherin could still remember when he met Brittany.

_Adorable, seven year old Draco was hiding his pout from his father. He detested being shown off as though he were some sort of trophy but the little Malfoy had already been punished last Monday –he hid a shudder in remembrance- and he didn’t need to encourage such response again. After all, Draco may be vain but he was certainly not stupid. Father was displaying all signs of not having had a good day, meaning his temper would be shorter than usual which translated into his being the perfect pureblood heir._

_“Malcolm Chambers is one of the most widely loved Ambassadors in our society, he’s charismatic and powerful, his sway is awe-inspiring. Don’t embarrass me, Draconis and I won’t have to punish you”, was the short explanation his Father had given him before leading to the room where he would meet the famous personality._

_Upon entering he realized his Father would be furious, their guests had arrived earlier than expected and only elegant Narcissa had been there to greet them and graciously offer them canapés from the silver trays the house-elves carried diligently._

_The captivating wizardling studied with his Black eyes the Chambers Family, their Patriarch, a grey wizard with brown hair and caramel eyes, stood proudly exchanging pleasantries with Father. Lynette, his adequately pleasingly to the eye spouse, was chatting with Mother, the breathtaking flower wife, always polite but not too entertaining. A girl older than him was sitting on an antique French couch looking by all means bored, the brunette possessed chocolate eyes and no restrain: her legs were swinging._

_The Patriarch looked briefly at his child, utter love and devotion crossing fleetingly his face and something within Draco snapped. Brittany was obviously favoured by her Father, if he were close to her… if he ever needed to abandon the country, he would have a wonderful contact. The odds of being forced to forsake his nation were higher than they should have been, alas, from what he read on Father’s face when he heard the word Scorpius, his twin was more of a Malfoy than he._

_The blond approached the other child, his carefully crafted mask hiding his determination. He was even better than Father at controlling social situations probably because no one expected it from a young child, not that he allowed his progenitor such knowledge he would only demand more and it wouldn’t work on his favour. The charming English sat next to her and said hi timidly effectively gaining a smile from the brunette._

_Within a few minutes, the American witch was entranced hearing her companion’s giggles, her eyes constantly following his movements with not well-hidden admiration tingled with protectiveness. Malcolm peeped to his child for a second only to find that surprising situation._

_The sweet façade of Draco Malfoy with Brittany Chambers started that day, with a shy smile and a lovely tingling laugh. And the Malfoy Heir had his first escape plan in case everything went wrong: Plan A, gaining Brittany’s affection so she’d offer a safe gate away to the States._

\------------x------------

The blond aristocrat sipped his tea and munched his toast absent-mindedly while he read _The Seer_ , it was a newspaper that marketed the high Wizarding class and that dated back to a few hundred of years. Draco preferred it to the more known vulgar imitation that was _The Prophet_ , since it targeted the common population and its information was faulty at best and downright lies at worse.

The pureblood frowned worriedly as he encountered a strange article. Apparently a witch had been found dead in the middle of nowhere, the cause of death was the Avada Kedavra. Despite what the populace thought, that curse was incredibly difficult to master and only good dark wizards could throw it around without becoming tired quickly.

That is why the Death Eaters, from his research, had used it commonly. It was a sign of their power and prowess in the Dark Arts, showing-off basically. Even the weak Death Eaters had spent months trying to master it simply to show their power. After the Dark Lord’s fall it hadn’t been used much, though, as it was associated with the servants of the Dark.

Which was why the cause of the death was quite intriguing, she had been missing for four days and her death had been a few hours before they found her. There were no apparent signs of torture which meant that the curses they had used to torture her were quite high level. Probably psychological curses which were rather hard to do.

Besides the Aurors weren’t complete morons so their inability to capture a suspect that should be nearby only spoke in favour of such suspect. The only possibilities were that the murderer: had an Auror accomplice, he was really powerful and could apparate out of the Aurors reach or he mastered the illusion arts and was hiding right in front of them.

In any case, it seemed like he followed the Death Eater modus operandi except for the lack of use of the dark mark. He should look more into the Death Eaters organization. If he recalled well, hadn’t Potter claimed that the Dark Lord wasn’t dead and that he was gaining strength?

At the time, his first year, he had thought the Boy-Who-Lived only wanted more attention but over the years he had acknowledged that the Golden Gryffindor hated attention and was quite honest. And hadn’t Potter been injured in that year spending a whole week in the Infirmary? There had been wild rumours running around, something about Quirrell having been possessed by Lord Voldemort…

During his schooling, there had been an unbelievable amount of rumours of near-death adventures the Golden Trio had gone through. He had logically found the gossip faulty, especially when Potter had come back the next year. Because who in their right mind would return year after year to a death trap?

Although, Potter did have a hero complex and he was extremely ignorant of the Magic World to the point where he might not even know of other schools.  Plus, the Gryffindor was an orphan who desperately searched for a link to his dead parents so leaving the school they had attended may have not crossed his mind…

Could it be that there was some truth to all the crazy rumours that had been spread around the castle periodically about Harry Potter? That would mean that the Dark Lord was awaiting somewhere, plotting his enemies' and traitors' demise. A shudder ran through Draco’s spine at the thought and he put down the new toast he was preparing.

Never mind, he was probably over thinking. He should prepare for his duelling lesson before his teacher lost patience and decided to attack him while he was calmly having breakfast. He put down _The Seer_ with a sigh, not really wishing to leave for his lesson; he had an extremely bad feeling about it.

The training room was almost unrecognisable: there were holes in the ceiling and the walls caused by explosions and hexes, consequently there were also chunks of rocks scattered around the room; there were also stains in the floor of nondescript substances Draco suspected half of them had been produced by an acidic liquid so he had to mind his step; there were also traps around the room just waiting to be set up by him.

The Malfoy Heir rolled to his side avoiding a hex he wasn’t familiar with which undeniably meant it was bad news for him, his leg was stinging, his arm was tired and his hip was aching unpleasantly from a burn. He stood up just in time to jump to the left to dodge a colourful hex that he identified as one that would make his bones painfully disappear, he almost groaned at the thought. He transformed a fallen rock caused by their vivid duel into an enormous and poisonous snake, trying to make enough time to heal -at least- his leg as it was considerably reducing his speed.

His teacher, Master Fullern, murdered his snake with a swift wave of his wand and the blond resigned himself to not being able to heal the deep gash in his thigh, thankfully he had had enough time to actually send another curse to his mentor in the Dark Arts. The tall brunette wagged his wand in a gesture the Slytherin didn’t recall ever seeing before, making his curse disappear in the thin air.

The Prince sighed and closed his eyes to stop his tears of frustration, he simply wasn’t good enough and surprisingly he showed no aptitude in curses and hexes for a Malfoy (that was taking into consideration the high standards of a Malfoy). He tried to counteract it by employing charms and transfigurations in the duels but, even though he was imaginative, his method was no challenge to his teacher.

Draco transformed the floor on which his teacher was into arenas and, in a rapid sequence, he sent a curse to the right, the most probable direction his teacher would leap to. But his mentor levitated himself and quickly shot him an obscure dark course. The Slytherin hastily cast a shield and started running and throwing hexes over his shoulder foreboding his demise and trying desperately to postpone it.

However, Master Fullern sent a powerful magical wave knocking the Malfoy off his feet and making him stumble to the ground. The blond fell to his side, panting and completely exhausted. He raised his enticing eyes to see his teacher in the Dark Arts shake his head disapprovingly. _So weak_. Draco barely controlled the urge to cry.

“You can stand up now”, ordered the old wizard coolly, “And know your Father will be informed of your progress”

The Ice Prince forced his weak body to rise gracefully and without betraying his many wounds and nodded stiffly to his teacher. He knew what informing his Father of his ‘progress’ would bring upon him, so he mentally prepared himself for the harsh punishment tonight would bring.

“Yes, Master Fullern, thank you”, responded aloofly the stunning blond, before exiting the practising room.

He walked directly to his chambers passing all the corridors without listening or acknowledging the portraits who –seeing his appearance- immediately started to gossip. The fair-haired knew he was being compared with his brother when he couldn’t understand what they were saying yet another ‘gift’ of his ancestors who obviously realised one twin could spy the other using the portraits.

Once he was in his enormous bathroom, the Slytherin stripped his clothing carefully to preclude further damage to his wounds and let his training outfit fall on the cool white marble floor. He searched through the cabinet and took the appropriate potions to apply to his burns, to heal his bones and to mend his wounds.

He wasn’t afraid of the scarring since he knew part of his punishment would be going through a painful Dark healing spell that would make it disappear, the reason that spell wasn’t commonly used was that it caused so much pain that untrained feeble minds were lost to insanity.

Nothing should blemish the perfect Malfoy beauty. Draco opened the golden tap of the basin and put the edge of a fluffy towel under the spring to moisten it. Afterwards, he mixed it with a green potion that would prevent infection and cautiously cleaned his wounds using it.

A gasp escaped his swollen lips (from biting them to stop his grunts of pain during the duel- never let an enemy know it _hurts_ -) when he stroked his most profound wound, the gash in his leg. He cleaned it gently, wincing occasionally, and was glad to have finished the cleaning treatment as he put down the bloody towel with a disgusted grimace. With a sigh, he started applying the potions that would heal each wound and set himself to wait for their effects to take hold. He wouldn’t be able to have a wonderfully relaxing warm bath to aid his sore muscles until his wounds were healed.

The pale boy closed his eyes tightly as if that would guard him from the pain. He abhorred the duel lessons, they were probably some of the most useful but he always ended up like this and knowing his Father would appear the next morning to punish him wasn’t something he looked forward to. However, they were a requisite for Master Fullern and the Prince Charming hadn’t devoted so many hours to gain the worldwide known Master in the Dark Arts as a teacher to just abandon when things got tough. Besides, it was a matter of survival.


	3. The maze

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, I hope you find it worth it!

#  3\. The maze

Draco woke up with his heart in his throat, his pale forehead damp with sweat. He breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm his racing heart. He closed his Black eyes. What had he dreamt to be in such a state? His mind went to his only recurrent nightmare. His fist tightened until his nails bit into his pale skin. He wasn’t a child anymore the nightmares should have stopped.

He left his comfortable bed, now damp with sweat and the smell of fear. He knew Poppy would have a bath ready for him, so he headed towards the bathroom. Despite himself, he smiled when he saw the bubble bath. His house-elf was clearly attuned to his needs. Usually he wasn’t quite so decadent first thing in the morning, but today he deserved it.

He gladly took off his clothes and entered the warmth of the bath, melting in the hot water. He closed his beautiful eyes. The tension from his nightmares drained from him as he relaxed in the bath. The fear for his life, the meeting with Veronica, lying to Theo, the possible return of the Dark Lord… It had all come at once.

He still couldn’t believe he had finally told someone about Veronica. He had no fear of the secret spreading; Theo had protected the information from escaping their lips quite thoroughly. But he had never spoken a word about it before. He had even spoken about it in front of a total stranger!

Still, revealing what had happened to him was oddly freeing. Especially considering the Notts’ reaction, he had always believed he was at fault for the entire incident. He hadn’t managed to detect the change in his drink or win over Veronica in their duel. It felt oddly reassuring to see the indignation of the Notts over his father’s treatment. He knew they were biased because they thought he would be a submissive, but it still eased the feelings of insignificance he had felt.

He inhaled deeply the scent of roses of his bath, made especially for him by the house-elves. At least, he would never have to encounter Veronica again. No socialite would invite her into their gathering ever again. The thought of a pregnant dominant would be too scandalous, especially once they realised she was no longer pregnant. They would think she had aborted. In the Wizarding World, every child was precious and nobody would ever bring harm to a child.

He still had a few problems in hand, though. The possibility of the Dark Lord returning wasn’t auspicious. Father had been high in the Dark Lord’s hierarchy, but he hadn’t really done anything to restore his old Master. The Dark Lord would regard it as a betrayal. From what he had heard, the Dark Lord had become unhinged by the end of the war and he could only think that it would be worse after his lengthy exile.

On that matter, he could do little more than collect information. He went to school with the best source of information, after all: Harry Potter. It was well known at Hogwarts the boy-who-lived and the Dark Lord shared a special sort of connection. It was centred in his cursed scar. Draco had looked into it, but he had never found an explanation. Being the only survivor of the Killing curse, the consequences for Harry Potter weren’t outlined in texts.

He moved the bubbles, pensively. Strangely enough, one of the things that hurt the most was the fact that he might loose Theo over his little plots. It was funny a few months ago, they had been friends but Draco had been perfectly independent. Now, he couldn’t imagine his life without Theo as his friend. The witty remarks whispered in his ear, the soft smiles directed his way that were just for him…

He would survive, he told himself firmly; survival was priority. After that, he could worry about mending bridges and begging for forgiveness. Now was the time he had been preparing all his life for, now was when he steel himself against everything and anyone. It was fine to enjoy the happier moments in life but if it was up to his twin, his life would end in two years. He needed any boost he could get.

He knew his brother was powerful and dominant. His Father’s and Mother’s expression had told him so before and Corbin’s comments had only strengthened that notion. But his brother would enter the fight without knowing a single thing about Draco. He, however, would know what he excelled in and what he was poor at. It was a considerable advantage; he could customize his skills to counter him.

At least, this plan would solve the worst part of his ordeal: the uncertainty. Even if it turned out his brother was some sort of killing machine, he would know and be ready for it. Preparation and planning was all Draco needed, it would make up for his clear lack of offensive skills. It had to.

Such heavy thoughts, he scolded himself. Today he was having brunch with Eugenie and he had to be his unfailingly smiling self. They were going to be talking about her impending wedding after all. It was weird of thinking the small girl he had played with since childhood was getting married, she was only seventeen. Of course, her fiancé, Heir Alderley was twenty-six. Submissives tended to marry earlier than dominants, after all.

He wondered whether he’d marry immediately or he’d wait to be a bit older before marrying. He knew bonding young was positive for the magic, the spouses’ magic grew closed and, consequently, so did their bond. But emotionally he wondered. Most widows and widowers didn’t live long after their bonded left this world. Although, he supposed the magic of the bond was to blame for that. Of course, purebloods also tended to marry young to secure their lines.

He stepped out of the bath, drying himself with a fluffy warm towel. He wondered who would be having brunch with them. Anya Nikolsky, Juliana Lytton and Claude Hamilton would surely be there, they were Eugenie’s best friends. He went into his dresser and perused his options. He didn’t think it would be a formal brunch; the mere concept of brunch was not very formal for Wizarding Society.

He put on an off-white under-robe and matching braises before turning back to his options. Maybe the coral tunic? It was such a bright and vibrant colour for summer… But would it make him look pale in a bad way? He frowned and looked at the pastel green robe, it had too much lace to be considered informal though. He did have a beautiful forest green robe that was very comfortable but it didn’t really say summer to him.

He looked at his windows: the sun was shining brightly. He definitely would need something that inspired more the season of summer. He would have to reserve the forest green robe for an evening closer to autumn. He hummed in thought and finally picked a teal blue robe. He quickly dressed and brushed his silky blond hair.

He Flooed directly into the restaurant, _Café Central_. He had only been there a couple of times, but the dishes he had tried were exquisite. The maître brought him quickly to the table, where Eugenie and her friends were waiting. They were older than him and had presented as submissives. There were only Eugenie’s three best friends. It made Draco feel vaguely uncomfortable for a few moments, but he maintained his bright smile.

“Eugenie”, he beamed happily, “It’s so great to see you I can’t believe you’re going to be married this summer!”

Predictably, the submissive girl giggled and gestured him to sit down. Draco inwardly smiled, everyone loved when people acted as though they were the most important person in the room. Thankfully, he did like Eugenie. She was a sweet girl and he hoped Heir Alderley treated her as she deserved. His little birds hadn’t commented on any bad rumours on the pureblood dominant, so he supposed it would be fine.

“This is my dearest friend, Draco Malfoy. Draco, you have met Anya, Juliana and Claude?” introduced them Eugenie cheerfully.

“Oh, yes, of course! Last Yule, at your manor I believe”, he said with a kind smile, and with a wink he added, “You were all a true delight”

The response was the happy laughter of the entire table. Anya was a pretty blond submissive with green eyes and a tall and slender figure. She was a Nikolsky, she wasn’t nobility but her family was a branch of House Gorchakov, which was one of the most important houses in Russia. Her family lived in England because they were in charge of the trade agreements between Britain and Russia, which made them very wealthy.

Juliana was a brunette witch with blue eyes and a kind smile. The Lyttons were minor nobility and were wealthy. They had produced plenty of capable witches and wizards and had no scandal attached to their name. It made her a very good company for a submissive noble like Eugenie. A lot of the submissives in their family were actually close friends with submissives of very powerful and wealthy Houses.

Claude Hamilton was the most beautiful submissive in the table. He had big innocent brown eyes and beautiful brown curls; his features were elegant and pretty. He was from a minor dark pureblood House, with no extreme wealth and of not many members. However, Claude was the fiancé of Heir Demidov. House Demidov was a noble and wealthy Russian House. Heiress Demidov, a forty-year-old dominant, had met Claude at one of the Nikolsky’s balls and had fallen in love with the beauty and charm of the submissive.

Discreetly, Draco regarded Claude Hamilton. He was truly a beauty and he was graceful and polite. He could see how he had charmed Heir Demidov enough to court him and marry him. For Hamilton, it was quite a step us in status but he wondered whether he would be happy. He would have to live in Russia, where he had no friends or connections, and would be married to a witch far older than him. The age difference between dominant and submissive wasn’t uncommon, since submissives married early but dominants had more freedom. But twenty years was quite a difference even for wizards. Still, Draco couldn’t help but admire his graceful manner.

“I have gathered all of you here, not only to plan my wedding, but to tell you… you’re going to be my companions!” exclaimed excitedly the to be bride.

Draco smiled widely and thanked profusely Eugenie for the honour. Being a companion in the bonding ceremony was a great honour, it would mean actively participating in the wedding and its magic. It was a position that displayed the high regard the bride held the person to their entire society. Wedding ceremonies also gave a small boost of power to the participants. It was one of the few legal ways to encourage expanding one’s magic.

 

The beautiful aristocrat was reading intently a book on dark curses sitting on a comfy armchair, after his Father’s punishment, he wanted nothing more than improving fast. Automatically, without really realizing what he was doing, he moved his hair out of the way again. The problem with having fine silky long hair was that tails or braids didn’t last that long without a sticking charm and using these kind of spells too often was bad for his fine hair.

However, he was distracted by the sound of an owl knocking the window to claim his attention. He stood up gracefully to open the window only to discover a bird he recognized quite well, it was Theo’s. Nervousness bubbled inside of him at the sight and he hurried to untie the letter.

**_Dearest Draco,_ **

**_This Thursday, the English Brach of the Nott Family will meet to have our mandatory dinner. It would be most pleasant if you could attend as I find no entertainment in such gatherings. I believe your presence would change this fact, therefore I eagerly await your confirmation for such meeting._ **

**_Yours truly,_ **

**_Theodore Nott_ **

Draco bit his lower lip, obviously Theo hadn’t taken the subtle hints about his inexistent submissiveness. He had tried to convey the dominant nature that was a Malfoy characteristic going as far as to mention there hadn’t been born a single submissive in the English Branch for more than five hundred years, but Theo had simply smiled and refused to understand.

Still, this letter meant that Corbin would be there and maybe he could manage to be alone with him long enough to legimence him about his brother and change his memories. Although the Nott cousin wasn’t in his brother’s class, he was observant and would’ve surely paid a minimum of attention to the Malfoy twin to gauge his level of danger.

He sighed as he coined his answering letter:

**_Dear Theodore,_ **

**_I would be honoured to attend the dinner of the English Branch of the noble Nott Family. I hope to be as helpful evading boredom as you seem to think I'll be._ **

**_Sincerely,_ **

**_Draco Malfoy_ **

He sent a letter agreeing to go with a heavy stomach, as he understood Theo was taking the courting too far. They spoke to each other every day so there was no need for a letter, it’d only made everything more formal and he was inviting him to a family gathering showing to his family his intended. Although, there could not be any formal courtship until both had come into their inheritances.

He didn’t know if he could salvage their friendship after his fellow Slytherin realised he was no submissive, he’d feel played which wouldn’t be too far from the truth. A sigh escaped his sweet pink lips, but he steeled himself reminding harshly to himself what was in danger. His life was at stake! His twin had an unfair advantage and he needed to even the odds.

He was still repeating it to himself as he studied the exquisite marine blue robe in front of the mirror: it carefully wrapped around his body hinting but never disclosing the lean and ravishing body, brought out his precious silverish blue eyes, the silkiness and brilliance of his hair and his petal lips. He looked gorgeous, simply stunning. The robe was elegant and it obviously favoured his frame but not so much it could be considered unbecoming, in fact, it was a perfect balance between revealing (but not inappropriate for his age) and classy.

Theo seemed to agree about the robe. When Draco emerged from the elegant fireplace he looked as though his breath had been stolen, his brown eyes wide as he took in the blonde’s beauty. Had the Malfoy not been such an artist at masking his emotions he would have blushed like a little school submissive as it was, he feigned being too absorbed studying the foreign Floo room.

The other Slytherin quickly snapped out of his reverie and offered him his arm chivalrously while his sensual lips stretched into a handsome smile. He was led to a heavily ornamented room that showed off wealth and presence. There were already people waiting, lounging in the Italian rococo’s sofas sipping their alcoholic drinks and talking with apparent disinterest about common matters.

“Mother, dad, you know Draco Malfoy”, greeted Theo calmly.

Breanne Nott, the matriarch of the English Branch, stood up smoothly hinting her extensive training. She was darkly attractive with her sharp features and also quite intimidating, in contrast her submissive Jarah was as sweet as his name let on. His soft features and honey eyes were truly a sight to behold. Of course, he wasn’t as beautiful or stunning as Draco was but he had a feeling of innocence and sweetness, whereas Breanne Nott had the same aura as his Father: cold and impressive.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you again Lady Nott and Consort Nott”, he said with a charming smile, not letting his discomfort show through.

“It’s good to see you so well, Draco”, smiled Jarah kindly, “come sit by me”

The blond obediently sat down next to the submissive consort, the least he wanted or needed was to contradict him. Thus he conversed with Theo’s bearer using all his charisma and charm to keep the other ensnared and to discover who exactly surrounded him.

There were many people in the room; nevertheless he found out that there was Zaira, Breanne’s favourite sister, who had come with her dominant Kaiden and their children Damarae and Caroline. There were also Derek and Corbin, Theo’s preferred cousins and in whom the dark haired teenager confided and relied on the most.

In the Pureblood world names were known to have a special meaning and significance that had been lost in other societies. Theodore’s name meant god or gift from god in Latin one of the most important languages in the Wizarding World, Breanne meant strong, Jarah meant sweet, Kaiden meant warrior, Derek meant ruler, Zaira meant princess, Corbin meant raven-haired and red which obviously had lots of connotations, Damarae meant joy and Caroline meant happiness.

It was curious how easily Jarah was informing him of his son’s closer connections; surely he too couldn’t be under the impression that he was to be a submissive? But his son was courting him informally since they weren't sixteen yet and Consort Nott seemed to agree so he probably did. However, Breanne Nott didn’t agree so heartedly if the analysing looks she kept sending to him were to be trusted.

Dinner had been delightful, Theo had entertained him the whole evening introducing him to his family and being a witty and intelligent conversationalist. Draco knew he had been the perfect pleasant guest and had captivated nearly everyone who had listened to him. The only one who seemed to not have any fondness for him was Theodore’s Mother, which he found sincerely worrying.

He smiled amused at one of Corbin’s comments and looked out for Theo, he was diverted with one of his older cousins who was –if his gesture reading was accurate- explaining a funny situation in an official dinner party at the Ministry. This was his chance, he had to convince Corbin to go somewhere alone to legimence him and not have any possible witness. He forced his cheeks to look flushed and his forehead to become slightly moist with sweat, to make it look as though it was hot inside for him.

“Would you like to go outside?” offered Corbin gentlemanly, his attitude having really changed after Draco’s revelation.

“I’d love to, Theo’s told me that there’s a maze in the gardens now”, he answered enchantingly letting the other lead him outside.

Corbin needed no more prompt to show him the maze. A part of Draco winced at the obvious trust that implied and the stone in his stomach was suddenly heavier than ever. But it was a matter of life or death for him. So he continued to be the charismatic visitor he had been so far. The maze was massive: hundreds of corridors and dead ends, it was made out of tall bushes that looked as thick as castle’s walls. The best of all was that it was impossible to see what was happening inside from the manor, as there were parts with thick green ceilings formed by plants and roses.

The Malfoy waited patiently till they were under one of the corridors with the green ceiling to act, he quickly charmed a fallen rose behind him to look like him stupefied and fell behind Corbin. A flick from his wand and he was wearing a heavy cloak that covered his features and gave the impression of him being taller and bulkier. Corbin halted after not hearing him following and turned to see ‘Draco’s’ unconscious form and the ‘stranger’.

“ _Shurds, Theis_ ”, whispered the blond in a different voice (the Malfoy Heir was well-known for being able to do magic speechlessly) and the Nott was petrified and Draco knew no one was around and there were no charms to record what happened in this part of the maze, “ _Legimence_ ”

He was fast in finding a crack in Corbin’s fortification and he slipped inside his mind. The Slytherin wasn’t skilful in many offensive Dark Arts. However, he was an expert on human behaviour and socialising. In this particular ability he was rather proficient, especially after having had Professor Snape as his occasional teacher. He had always known being such a perfect student for Snape would be beneficial in the long run. Although his Father considered the poor pureblood to be beneath them, the Head of Slytherin was a cunning and artful man.

The process of extracting the memories was complicated; he copied all the memories that labelled as “Durmstrang” and “Malfoy”. He was about to stop there but he copied the ones of “Theo and Draco” too. Of course, Corbin didn’t have his memories labelled. However, mind was trained for Occlumency so everything was in order and since he was quite sharp there were lots of connections between memories, which made sorting through them easier.

He wouldn't get all the memories surrounding those people and places though, only the ones that had left the biggest mark on Corbin, since Draco only followed the strongest links. The gorgeous blond was incredibly swift and soon had copied the memories. Even though he didn’t have time to check them or to see them at the moment.

The Malfoy walked behind the stunned dominant, so that he couldn’t possibly see what he was doing and transformed his fallen figure back into a rose. He vanished his enormous cloak; in a stroke of genius he took the rose and stabbed some of his thorns into his robe.

“ _Confundo, Obliviate, Finito, Dispert_ ”, whispered the Slytherin making Theo’s cousin forget what had happened in the last minutes and his magical signature disappear.

The Nott turned to look at Draco as the last he remembered was pausing after not hearing his soft steps. The breathtaking blond was inclined on a rosebud smelling one of the pink roses; the gorgeous Prince raised his alluring silverish blue eyes and smiled. He stood up gracefully brushing with his hand his elegant robe, frowning slightly for a split second, but soon returning to his enchanting smile.

“Your roses are of a more superb colouring than the ones at Malfoy Manor, Mother would be devastated”, smirked the magnificent youth. “They even smell sweeter”

“I’m sure Theo would be only too pleased to lend you some seeds”, declared amused the elder.

His plan was perfect: if Corbin ever realised he had been obliviated he’d see a stranger attacking him and Draco. There was evidence that the blond had fallen to the ground unconscious as he had thorns in his robe. It was impossible to know what memories he had copied, so he wasn’t in any danger of it incriminating him. His magical signature had disappeared from the place, so it couldn’t go back to him. Furthermore, no one could have possibly witnessed it, as he had checked with a charm no one was nearby and no filming charms were in the maze and had set a ward to alert him of anyone approaching them. No one would be ever able to trace it back to the Slytherin.

Despite the brilliance of his plan, the stone in his stomach was heavy as he allowed Corbin to lead him back inside the impressive manor. The fair-haired’s enthralling smile was even harder to keep when Theo raised his warm eyes as soon as he entered the room and met his own captivating eyes. Heir Nott was quickly by his side after his entrance, keeping always his hand on the small of his back or his arm, whispering smart comments to his ear, being simply fantastic.

And the stone in his stomach seemed to disappear as Draco forgot about the misgivings of tonight in favour of being with his friend, always feeling the Matriarch’s eyes on him, studying and analysing his very move no doubt to discover his true intentions and his real worth.

However, when he was finally able to get into his bed after the exhausting night, the stone seemed to reappear as he remembered the open trust Theo and Corbin displayed. It seemed to weight even more, remembering the Nott Heir’s possessive eyes glowing with pride when they looked at him.


End file.
